Thursday, May 22, 2014

European Union Court Requires Google to Follow Right to Be Forgotten- Invalidates Data Privacy Directive

Posted by: Jan Meisels Allen

Even though the second chamber of the European Union
(EU), theEU Council, has not yet voted
upon the Proposed Data Privacy Regulation, the European Union Court has
required that Google follow the “Right to Be Forgotten” in specific cases
including deletion of links to embarrassing legal records—even if what is
reported is true.This is raising
questions by some if the proposed data regulation is needed as the Court
decision was so encompassing. To read the Court’s decision go to:http://tinyurl.com/m8fpysv

Two EU member countries, Ireland and Austria, brought the
cases to the European Court asking them to review the data privacy directive in
the light of the fundamental right to respect for private life and the
fundamental right to the protection of personal data. The European Court struck
down the data retention directive passed as part of anti-terrorism measures in
2006, after attacks in London and Madrid. The data retention directive affects
internet and phone surveillance by requiring the companies to store data on who
contacts whom, when, how often, and from which locations, for between six
months and two years.More information
is available in the European Observer

The Proposed Data Privacy Regulation includes the right
to be forgotten and the right to erasure both issues that are of concern to
genealogists who want assurance that records of genealogical value will
continue to contain essential information.

In the US, the National Public Radio (NPR) had a brief
discussion on the recent European Union Court decision to invalidate its Data
Protection Directive and the Right to be Forgotten. Georgetown University
Professor Meg Ambrose who was being interviewed cited a recent California law*
which permits minors to have embarrassing materials removed from their social
media internet pages. While that law addresses only minors, Professor Ambrose
believes the conversation of the “right to be forgotten” will be a conversation
held in the United States even though the European Union Court decision does
not affect what happens in the United States. To listen to the 5-minute
interview on NPR go to: http://tinyurl.com/np7znao
Original url:

*The California law SB 568 (2013) was signed September
2013 and is called, “Privacy Rights for California Minors in a Digital
World”. S.B. 568 includes a provision known as the “Delete Button” or
“Eraser” law, which allows minors under 18 to request that companies delete
specified information that the requestor had previously posted online The
law becomes effective January 2015. To read Chapter 336 of the2013 Laws of
California see: